Harold Shipman should spend the rest of his life in prison, Home Secretary David Blunkett said yesterday.

Harold Shipman should spend the rest of his life in prison, Home Secretary David Blunkett said yesterday.

In a written Parliamentary answer, Mr Blunkett said the "heinous" nature of Shipman's crimes meant that only a "whole life tariff" was appropriate in his case.

Mr Blunkett stated, "I do not usually comment on the tariff decided in individual life-sentence prisoner cases. However I recognise that Harold Shipman's crimes raise issues of particular public concern and I therefore intend to depart from my usual practice in this case.

"Harold Shipman was convicted in January 2000 on 15 counts of murder. I extend my deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the victims.

"These were the most heinous of offences and the grossest breach of the duty of trust he owed as a doctor to the victims, all of whom were trusting patients.

"Taking all the circumstances into account I have decided that nothing less than a whole life tariff should apply in this case."

James Purnell, the Labour MP for Stalybridge and Hyde - where Shipman committed many of his crimes - welcomed Mr Blunkett's announcement.

Mr Purnell said, "I am reassured that David Blunkett has made clear today in answer to my Parliamentary question that Harold Shipman should never be released.

"This will be of some comfort to the families of those he murdered at this sensitive time when they await the findings of Dame Janet Smith next week."

Dame Janet, the senior judge chairing the public inquiry into the Shipman killings, is due to publish her initial report shortly.

Her report is expected to say how many of the former GP's patients were murdered - estimates have suggested the figure could be in the hundreds.

The cases of all "whole life tariff" prisoners are reviewed by the home secretary after 25 years. Further reviews are carried out every five years after that.

But Mr Blunkett has acknowledged that a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights could en-courage "whole life" murderers in their legal attempts to strip home secretaries of the power to decide how long serious criminals remain in jail.